Method and apparatus for monitoring tcp sessions in a mobile data network and developing corresponding performance metrics

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional application Ser. No. 60/856,980, filed Nov. 6, 2006, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.

This invention relates generally to data sessions and more particularly to mobile data sessions in a mobile network.

Communication networks of various kinds are known in the art. This includes mobile networks that serve to provide one-way and two-way communications for mobile end user platforms such as cellular telephones, laptops (and other computers having a small personally portable form factor), personal digital assistants, and so forth. Such networks often support a variety of communication activities using a wide variety of supporting data protocols including, but certainly not limited to, Transfer Control Protocol (TCP).

Unfortunately, such networks are not perfect. As a result, and for any of a myriad of reasons, a given communication session can be dropped. Detecting such drops can comprise an important activity for a network administrator. Such information can be used, for example, to influence diagnostic conclusions, architectural modifications and/or additions, resource reallocations, and so forth. Accordingly, and as one example in this regard, active data session drop detectors exist that are able to detect a dropped data session. Such detectors typically comprise specialized network probes. For example, probes exist to interact with 3GPP mobile network interfaces and capture data session control messages from various 3GPP network elements (such as NodeB\'s, RNC\'s, SGSN\'s, GGSN\'s, and so forth).

Unfortunately, such existing approaches present numerous implementation challenges as networks grow larger and ever more complex. With 3GPP active data sessions again as an example, existing probes are interface specific. This, in turn, requires deployment of a variety of probes (such as Gn/Gp interface probes, IuPS probes, Iub probes, and so forth) in order to be assured of developing the desired information regarding dropped active data sessions.

As a related problem, 3GPP mobile data network operators must decode various protocols (such as, but not limited to, IP, GTP, OCx, ATM, RANAP, RLC, and so forth) for these above-mentioned varied mobile network interfaces. This, in turn, typically requires a variety of vastly different software decoders to accommodate these different interfaces.

These and various other problems greatly increase engineering complexity, cost, and operational requirements when seeking to employ prior approaches to detect dropped active data sessions. These problems only grow worse as networks themselves continue to grow larger and more complex.